Subtlety
by Shinigami Flame
Summary: Chapter 3 is up! Seto Kaiba POV. The finish of the battle begun in chapter 2, as well as a bizarre duel for our favorite CEO...
1. Chapter 1: The Island's First Perils

**_Disclaimer: The only things I own in this fanfiction are the e-mail addresses (which I strongly recommend you do NOT attempt to e-mail) the plot, and the plot twists, perhaps the one or two plot holes which I hope will never come. I do not own the characters, the locations, or the monsters in this fanfic. Thank you for your time._**

  
  
Well, before FanFiction.net deleted _Attention Authors_ and revoked my uploading priveledges for a week (Those people get cranky quite a lot, don't they?), this fic got the most votes. _Subtlety_. I might need a new name eventually. Subtlety was the first word that came to mind when I thought of this fanfic, but I only wanted a word to describe the summary. So, the title's pending unless I get told otherwise. I need to think of a new one.   
  
Unless, of course, you think the title's okay...   
  
Now, I promised to shift POV and send Yuugi and Anzu e-mails to each other each chapter. As for the e-mails, I made them up. Please do not e-mail them. Or else, you will either: A) Get them sent back to you; or B) Get a strange e-mail that's full of incomprehensible stuff to the non-educated-in-the-ways-of-Japanese-typing, which should be a lot of you. Just a note before the story began. 

* * *

Message From: LooksCanDeceive84@hotmail.co.jp   
Message To: GameMaster01@hotmail.co.jp   
  
Yuugi! Konnichiwa!   
  
You said you wanted me to e-mail you every so often, so I'll send you the first one now. I didn't get to say goodbye to you when you left, since, as you know, I had to take your Jii-chan to the hospital. I wish I could've, though! Jounouchi told me you'd be travelling with Bakura, Honda, and _Seto_. I'm curious: Why Seto? Isn't he supposed to hate you?   
  
I saw the strangest thing while I was in the ambulance to the hospital. As I stared out the window (because I didn't want to look at your Jii-chan with all of those tubes in him), I saw an albino dog. It looked a lot like Silver Fang, the Duel Monster. He had the same fur, and I think this dog was even as big as Silver Fang, but I'm not too sure about the height. I didn't get a good look at him, since we were kind of speeding through the city, but it was so strange. I just thought you'd like to know, since we have spotted weirder things than a white wolf. Don't worry, I haven't seen the Leghul monster since mou hitori no kimi banished it.   
  
Right now, your Jii-chan isn't doing any better than he was when he first collasped at the Kame Shop. He isn't doing any worse, either, though. He's still unconcious, but the doctor says he should wake up in a day or so. So I think he's doing just fine.   
  
Careful out there, all right, Yuugi? Keep in touch!   
  
~~~ Anzu   
  
  
  
  


**_Subtlety_**

**_Chapter One: The Island's First Perils_**

_Jounouchi POV_

  
  
Never thought in a million years I'd be back here again.   
  
Things are very different, of course. There aren't any duelists here, naturally. The competition is long since over. Anzu's not here. Kaiba _is_ here. We're not looking for a fight. No Star Chips, no duelists, no Player Killers...   
  
Just an empty island, devoid of life, save one or two squirrels. No sign that even a person set foot here. There aren't any dueling stations left. There isn't even a lost Duel Monsters card hanging behind.   
  
It's blank. It's bleak. It's boring.   
  
So why'm I here? There's something going on back at home, and mou hitori no Yuugi, the other Yuugi, sensed something coming from over here. He wanted to check it out.   
  
Perhaps it's in my blood, but I followed. It's in Honda's blood, as well. I can't explain why Kaiba or Bakura followed us to the island, but they did. I knew Anzu wanted to follow us, as well, but she had to take care of Sugoroku. I think it was... I dunno. He got poisoned by some over-sized bug and fell into a coma. Anzu wanted to make sure he'd pull through, so she stayed behind.   
  
And that's why we're at this stupid, empty island. I stared around. Not a bird, squirrel, or otherwise in sight.   
  
I have discovered what hell feels like. But I don't know if I should be proud or otherwise.   
  
"Make inu!" Kaiba snapped. "Hurry up! I don't want to waste any time here."   
  
I followed my friends in silence, continually staring at the trees, searching for a sign of life. I think we walked through a familiar patch of land. It was where Yuugi dueled Insector Haga. We walked through the place where Yuugi chased down Haga for the duel, but there wasn't a moth in sight. Which is really surprising, considering there was almost an army of moths when we were following Haga.   
  
"Je-**sus**!" Honda shouted suddenly, flailing his arms.   
  
We stared at Honda in confusion. The airhead simply rubbed his arms.   
  
"It got colder here for a second," he explained. "Please say somebody else felt that!"   
  
We continued to stare at Honda in confusion. He sighed.   
  
"You didn't. Then never mind. Nandemonai."   
  
"I think you're finally cracking, Honda," Kaiba frowned.   
  
... It seemed likely. But I didn't want to say anything, in case Honda's be pissed about his friend saying he was going crazy. Sure, that never stopped me in the past, but now didn't feel like a good time to joke around with somebody.   
  
We walked in silence for a while. Every single one of us, even Yuugi, was oblivious to the growing shadow. Until Honda got pegged in the arm. The force of the blow sent him reeling backwards. He climbed to his knees. His hand inched up to the dagger embedded in his shoulder. His blood started oozing out from the wound.   
  
A glint of silver. I turned around and faced an endless void of shadows. The world turned frigid, as if I was standing in a freezer. That must've been the chill Honda was talking about before he was the victim of a sneak attack.   
  
Another glint of silver. I saw a man in black. If it wasn't for the dagger, I'd have missed him completely.   
  
Yuugi recognized this one. His eyes narrowed. "It's Ansatsu!" he frowned. "What does he want?"   
  
Ansatsu threw another dagger. His speed was incredible. All I saw of the dagger was a silver blur. I heard Kaiba groan in pain as the dagger whisked past him, leaving a small cut. If Kaiba had turned his head enough to see Honda, the dagger would've rested in his temple, and he'd have died instantly.   
  
Adrenaline was pumped through my veins as the ninja-like man crouched. I could hear the snapping of the ninja-wannabe's clothing. I could hear Yuugi's rapid heartbeat. I actually heard Kaiba's shock. I heard Honda's blood hitting the ground, his breathing slowing.   
  
I reached my hand in my pocket and pulled out one card from my deck. I still don't know why I did, but I guess it was good luck for me. When the card was out of my pocket, blue ribbon-like things emerged from the card and wrapped themselves around me. When the ribbons cleared, I was in a completely different guise.   
  
I had become the Flame Swordsman. Again. Thank **God** I was life-sized.   
  
Ansatsu sank lower, arming himself with another dagger. I shut my eyes, letting my body move on its own, like during most other fights. This one, I realize, is very different, but why can't I use the same strategy?   
  
It worked quite well. I felt my fingertips heat up, and I heard the crackling of flames. My eyes shot open, just in time to watch a funnel of flames streak out towards the ninja man. He screamed, loud and long. It was the only thing I've ever heard from him, before he disappeared with the flames. Deader than the action on this island.   
  
The shadows cleared. And the island appeared again. But it was still as cold as the world of darkness. Strange.   
  
I felt tired, but only a little bit tired. So it didn't matter to me. My gaze shifted to Honda, hoping he was all right.   
  
Funny. Ansatsu's dagger disappeared, but the wound remained. The blood was starting to pour out from the injured area more heavily. Bakura shifted nervously. He never was one to appreciate the sight of blood. Then again, none of us are...   
  
I helped Honda to his feet. He seemed completely out of it, so I helped walk him. The others stared at me in surprise as I walked on ahead without them.   
  
"Where're you going?!" Bakura asked desperately.   
  
"Honda needs help!" I insisted. "He might **die** if we don't help him out!"   
  
To my surprise, Kaiba wrapped some kind of bandage thing around Honda's shoulder.   
  
"So he doesn't lose too much blood before we find a place to stop and help him," he explained.   
  
"Why do you care about Honda?" I mused.   
  
"I don't mind seeing anybody in mental anguish," replied Kaiba. "But _physical_ pain is something different. I hate seeing people in physical pain, no matter who they are."   
  
I nodded. "Where can we take this guy?"   
  
"I have an idea," Yuugi said. "It might not work, but it's worth a shot."   
  
"You're right," I nodded. "Let's give this a shot. What was the idea?" 

**~*~*~*~*~*~**

  
We stood at the base of the castle. It was the only proof that there were ever people here. Even now, it looked larger than life. Especially now, since there's absolutely nothing here. That made the castle seem like heaven on this hellhole of an island.   
  
"How do we get in?" I asked, shifting Honda's weight so he'd stop slipping off my shoulder. The one question stumped everybody. If we weren't getting in, how could we get Honda some help?   
  
Kaiba laid a hand on the door handle, preparing to open it. But his fingertips barely grazed against the handle of the door before the doors opened with a _creeeeeeeeeak_, revealing the hallways of the castle. Nervously, we walked into the castle.   
  
As we walked through the empty hallways, we saw quite a few things. A huge pit by the one pathway, the same place where the dueling station would appear during... well, duels. We also saw a dark red stain on the carpets. How that got there, none of us wished to know.   
  
"The blood's leaking through the bandage!" Bakura pointed out.   
  
"In here," Yuugi smiled, opening one of the doors. "Lucky for us, most of the rooms are unlocked."   
  
We laid Honda on the bed in the room. Kaiba stripped one of the pillows of its case and used the pillowcase to re-wrap Honda's wound. Honda fell asleep before the make-shift bandage was completed, the lazy bastard. Bakura threw a blanket over him, since Honda was kinda shivering. We let Honda rest a bit as we left the room.   
  
Yuugi, Bakura, Kaiba and I took a walk down to the old dueling lookout place. We leaned over the rail as if we were staring out into the ocean, only looking into the huge black hole. Some view, right?   
  
"Why'd you come out here, Kaiba-kun?" Yuugi asked suddenly.   
  
"I've heard you met with some of the same problems I have," Kaiba replied. "Huge bugs, beasts, all modeled after the monsters in the game. A Cyber Commander met me in the streets. It had everything, the same hair style, skin tone, and weapons. It was almost hard to believe."   
  
"What happened?" Bakura promted.   
  
"Nothing, really," Kaiba said. "But it was strange, regardless. The thing that got me coming here was a hulking, green demon. Hitosume Giant. It attacked Mokuba. Damn near _killed_ him. I'm still thanking Kami-sama for the save."   
  
"How'd Mokuba survive?"   
  
"I'm still confused," answered Kaiba. "I had Mokuba in my arms, ready to take the last few blows for him. But shadows overfell the Hitosume Giant, almost like the shadows that Ansatsu appeared in. I heard the Hitosume Giant roar, and then it fell silent. When the shadows cleared, the giant was nowhere in sight."   
  
"Where's Mokuba now?" I asked him.   
  
"Under intensive care." Kaiba stared off into the darkness of the pit. "When I heard you guys were going through the same thing, I decided to come along. Mokuba'll be safe, I can tell. I want to find out what's behind the giant, the commander, Ansatsu...   
  
"I swore to Mokuba I'll protect him. And I'd rather kill myself than let anything more happen to Mokuba."   
  
"How ba---"   
  
A loud scream came from Honda's room. I jumped from my place on the railing and ran down the hall. I burst into Honda's room.   
  
"Honda, you all right in here?!" I asked.   
  
... He didn't look fine, anybody can tell you **that**. He was curled up into a little ball, his knees against his chest. He sat up as far against the wall as he could. One shaky hand was extended, the index finger pointing at a blank space on the wall. Honda's tanned eyes were open in shock.   
  
"... Well?" I shifted my weight to one foot.   
  
Honda's gaze turned to me. "Y-you don't see 'im?"   
  
"... See who?"   
  
"Y-yer k-k-kidding!" Honda laughed.   
  
"What am I supposed to look at?" I scratched my head and looked at the blank wall. "Cuz I don't see a damn---"   
  
"Uso! Uso! Usooooooo!!!" insisted Honda, pointing at me rather than the empty wall.   
  
"Iie," I replied. "Honest to God."   
  
Honda groaned. "I must be cracking. Maybe that sneak attack from the wannabe-ninja messed with my head..."   
  
"You don't think the blade was poisoned, do you?" I asked. "Cuz it was hard enough finding a boat that was willing to drop us off here."   
  
"Why didn't we take one of Kaiba's helicopters again?"   
  
"Kaiba's announcement that he was coming along for the ride was sort of last-minute."   
  
"... Oh, yeah!"   
  
"Point is, it'd be hard to get some help for you if y' are poisoned."   
  
"So," Honda frowned. "You'll leave me to die, and abandon my body on this bed?"   
  
"I didn't say that," I joked. "The **least** I can do is bury you when you die."   
  
"... Gee, thanks."   
  
"Any time," I smirked. "I'll leave you alone to your hallucinations."   
  
With that, I left the room and shut the door. I joined the others back at the railing and leaned over the side.   
  
"What was up with Honda-kun?" Yuugi asked.   
  
"He's goin' crazy," I answered. "Maybe a bit of rest will do good for him."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
In the next chapter, it's Honda POV! An e-mail from Yuugi to Anzu, then we get to find out why the hell Honda was screaming his head off at the wall! Maybe, in the next chapter, I can honest-to-Kami-sama say why Honda's so damn important in my story! Why I bothered to put him in! ^-^   
  
... As long as I get a few reviews. You wouldn't _mind_ telling me about my story, would you? Pwease? 


	2. Chapter 2: The Island's Hidden Secrets

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, any of the Japanese words, or otherwise. I own the e-mail addresses, which, as I have said before, you do NOT try to send e-mail to. I also do not own Shaman King's plot, just to make this Disclaimer completely randomish. Or maybe it's there for a reason? Who knows? (I do!)_**   
  
Well, here's the next chapter of Subtlety. I'd like to apologize to KAylen for using Japanese words. I _swore_ I'd put in translations, but I forgot to!   
  
Here're the translations to the last chapter words:   
  
Konnichiwa: Hello/Good afternoon   
Jii-chan: Grandpa (It's a less-honorable way of saying it.)   
Kame: Turtle (Kah-may) (The Kame Shop is the name of the game shop in Japan.)   
Mou hitori no kimi: The other you (They don't call the spirits that reside in the Items Yami forms. They're just... the other them.)   
Mou hitori no Yuugi: The other Yuugi (I think I said that, tho...)   
Make inu: Incompetent dog (Seto's such a nice guy, eh? Pronounced mah-kay ee-nu)   
Nandemonai: It's nothing/Never mind   
-kun: Some ending thing, used commonly for guys. -Chan is used for girls. Sometimes guys, tho, but **ONLY** sometimes.   
Kami-sama: God, respectibly   
Uso: Lie/Liar   
Iie: No   
  
And, I'll use parenthesis-like thingies to say the definition of a Japanese word from now on. So, it should look like...   
  
Setsunakutenno... Zutto. {{Even though it's painful... Always.}}   
  
That long word's a fun word! ^^() Anyway, back to the story. Starting Honda-POV. We'll finally be able to see just why the bayonet-kid's going crazy. =P 

* * *

Message From: GameMaster01@hotmail.co.jp   
Message To: LooksCanDeceive84@hotmail.co.jp   
  
Anzu-chan!   
  
Kaiba-kun's letting me use his laptop, and he's not putting up a big stink about it. I think he has other things on his mind, though. He's been pretty bearable for the trip. Jounouchi-kin's still not too fond of the idea that Kaiba-kun tagged along, but then again, when has he ever gotten along with Kaiba-kun?   
  
I'm glad to hear Jii-chan's doing better. We got attacked by another monster. It's worse than Leghul. Ansatsu. Remember him? He hit Honda-kun pretty hard. We managed to get him to a safer place. Where? The castle, of course! Strange, isn't it? Nothing was locked when we arrived there. Strange, but it helped a lot.   
  
Jounouchi-kun said Honda-kun was acting pretty strangely. I think it might've been the dagger wound that affected him, but Honda-kun was screaming at the wall. Don't ask. Jounouchi-kun said he calmed him down again. But you have to wonder why he was screaming in the first place, right?   
  
This place is so empty. Jounouchi-kun said it was almost like hell, itself. Personally, I find it more like the graveyard field that Jounouchi-kun dueled Ghost on. {{Ghost is Bonz in America. ~S-F~}} It's so... Dead. No other way to put it. It looks so strange without the Duelist Platforms, Duelists, and such. I found it strange that the dueling stations are gone, and the castle remained unlocked. Maybe it was planned like that?   
  
  
  
  


**_Subtlety_**

**_Chapter Two: The Island's Hidden Secrets_**

_Honda POV_

  
  
"Usooooooo!" I insisted angrily. How could Jounouchi-kun not **see**?!? He's right... Right...   
  
"Iie," Jounouchi said, shaking his head. "Honest to God."   
  
I glanced at the wall again. Nothing. I laughed at myself mentally. "I must be cracking," I groaned. "Maybe that sneak attack from the wannabe-ninja messed with my head..."   
  
Jounouchi and I talked for a bit more before he walked off. Strange how much a quick chat can tell you. I found out I'm probably not going to be buried back at home when I die. I'm positive this island is going to be my final resting place. After all, I'm seeing things, I'm weak, and apparently, the monsters are trying to take me down, first. Why else would Ansatsu aim for me, and not Bakura or Yuugi? Kaiba should be pretty content right now. This isn't all a big plot to kill him and give Kaiba Corp. to somebody else.   
  
I sighed and fell back against my pillows. What the hell was this stuff, then? Why're we caught up in it?   
  
Doshite?... {{Why?...}}   
  
  
  
I opened my eyes weakly. I had fallen asleep. Go figure. I sat up in bed again and examined the wound. I took the fact that it wasn't bleeding through the bandages as a good sign. I'd replace the bandages later.   
  
The door opened, and a silver-haired teen popped his head into the room cheerfully. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Honda-kun!" Bakura smiled. {{Good morning, Honda-kun!}}   
  
"Ohayou?" I asked. {{Good morning?}}   
  
"You've been asleep since the last time I checked on you," Bakura nodded. "It was last night."   
  
"Oh..." I smirked, nervously scratching my forehead. "That long? Then where'd the rest of you sleep?"   
  
"Other rooms."   
  
I mentally slapped myself. That was a stupid question. But can you blame me? I just woke up.   
  
Bakura started to unwrap my wound. "Is it acting up again?" he asked.   
  
"Huh?"   
  
"The knife injury."   
  
"Oh! No, it's fine. Just fine."   
  
"Jounouchi-kun said you were seeing things last night," Bakura prompted. "What did you see?"   
  
I shook my head. "Nandemonai, Bakura." {{It's nothing.}}   
  
"Uso," Bakura snapped, using a tone I never would have thought him capable of. {{Liar.}} "Jounouchi-kun said you were pretty hysterical when you saw what you did. So what did you see? You can tell me." He then re-wrapped my bandage.   
  
"It doesn't matter," I smiled weakly. "It's nothing, I swear, Bakura!"   
  
"If you were screaming as loud as you were, it wasn't nothing!" insisted Bakura.   
  
"Daijoubu!" I argued. {{It's okay!}} "It doesn't matter!"   
  
Bakura rolled his eyes as he finished the bandage. "Whatever, then," he frowned. "If you insist." Before he left, he added, "If you feel well enough, take a walk around the castle. There's a lot more to it than any of us thought. You might be surprised."   
  
I nodded. I was pretty sure Bakura was talking about the dungeons beneath the castle, where Kaiba and Mokuba were kept during the tournament. I didn't need to see that place again. But there were a couple of rooms I wanted to check out, maybe re-visit.   
  
Like Pegasus's room up in the tower. I'd like to see that place again. It was probably one of the only places that showed the more serious, deep, thought-provoking side of Pegasus on the island. I wouldn't mind seeing if the room remained the same. I instantly jumped up, eager to scan the castle, only to realize I forgot which way it was to the tower.   
  
But I had all the time in the world. No stupid guards to find me this time around. I could be a frequent visitor there. And only the people here would know.   
  
I walked out the door and started walking left. Maybe there was some kind of path outside I could take. My memory was a bit rusty as to this place. I can't remember which way I went to get up to the tower. I'll find it eventually.   
  
As I walked, I came across the deep red stain on the ground again. I stopped short. I saw it yesterday, but I didn't have much time to think about it. But now that I wasn't being carted off to a room to make sure I wouldn't die from a loss of blood, I could actually think about the ominous stain on the ground. And I had to wonder...   
  
"... What the hell is that stuff?" I asked, maybe a bit too loud.   
  
"Blood," murmured a low voice.   
  
I wasn't suspecting the answer. I jumped and whirled around. Dirty blonde hair, stupid bandana, sunglasses...   
  
"You again!" I cried, pointing at the man.   
  
Bandit Keith nodded.   
  
"What the hell are you doing here?!" I demanded.   
  
"I died here, so why not?" Keith snapped in reply.   
  
"... Here?"   
  
Keith groaned and started talking in English. Naturally, I couldn't make a word out of it.   
  
"... Nani?" I asked him. {{... What?}}   
  
"Never mind," Keith groaned. "Yes, I died here."   
  
"... How?"   
  
"Pegasus's goddamned eye..." Keith scowled.   
  
I blinked. And I _think_ Keith might've rolled his eyes, but I dunno. The sunglasses don't really tell you much for emotions.   
  
"You are a hopeless wreck," Keith said, shaking his head.   
  
"What happened?" I asked.   
  
"He turned my hand into a gun with the Eye," Keith explained. He made a gun with his thumb and forefinger and pointed it at his head. "He made me bring it to my head, and I think you're smart enough to guess the rest."   
  
"OH!" I was momentarily blinded by realization. Then I slammed a hand against my temple, as if shielding it from an invisible blow. "Ow! Damn, that had to..." I glanced up at Keith. "... Okay, forget I said anything."   
  
Keith scowled and glanced off to the side, away from me and the blood stain on the floor.   
  
"Why'd you decide to show your face around here?" I asked. "Why can't you just be dead?"   
  
Keith only smirked. "It shouldn't matter to you," he answered. "I thought I'd settle a score with an old _friend_ of mine..."   
  
"Pegasus, right?" I responded. "Sorry. I think he's dead."   
  
"Kuso!" Keith swore. {{Shit!}} He stared hard at me. "Who plugged the bastard?"   
  
"How the hell should _I_ know?!?"   
  
Keith groaned. "Then what **good** are you?!?"   
  
"Don't remind me," I snapped. "Apparently, I've been causing problems for everybody since I got here." I frowned. "And now I'm going crazy. You're dead, you shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be seeing you." I turned around and started walking away. "I should've stayed in bed today..."   
  
I heard a short, 'Hn" behind me, but thought nothing of it. I just kept walking. Briefly. A sharp chill passed through my body quite suddenly. I stopped and rubbed my arms, the frigid feeling starting to creep up my spine. I let out a loud shiver.   
  
... Which resulted in weird stares from Yuugi, Jounouchi, Kaiba, and Bakura. Damn, how'd they get there so fast?   
  
"What's gotten into you?" Kaiba asked, raising an eyebrow.   
  
Quick cover...   
  
"It's too cold in here," I frowned. "That's all."   
  
"It's _fine_," Jounouchi scoffed.   
  
I rolled my eyes. Great excuse, Honda. Veeeeeery great... Now they're **positive** you've cracked.   
  
Kaiba stared at me as if I was crazy. And I don't doubt that I am. Jounouchi looked slightly amused, yet maintained a look that asked me if I was positive I was all right. Bakura and Yuugi looked sympathetic, almost. Almost.   
  
I turned one way, trying to avoid the weird stares getting cast at me.   
  
"... This happened before."   
  
Everybody, including me, sent a confused glance at Yuugi.   
  
"Think about it," Yuugi said. "Didn't Honda do something like this before Ansatsu attacked? He stopped suddenly, a lot like he did just now. Of course, the shiver thing wasn't as obvious, since he was swearing when it happened, but still..."   
  
Bakura blinked. "I get it..." he smirked a bit. "I think Honda-ku---"   
  
He stopped suddenly. He tugged at a rope around his neck and revealed the Sennen Ring. I was the only confused person in the bunch, of course. I thought I had thrown that away? The confusion soon spread to the others, but for a different reason. I quickly joined the confusion, as well.   
  
The Ring was _glowing._ Not like one single tassel on the side of the Ring, as I had seen once before in the caverns below the island... But the pyramid inside the large Ring was glowing. The Sennen Ring started shaking slightly in Bakura's hands. To be honest, I was slowly realizing why I had feared that damned piece of jewelry back when Pegasus was alive.   
  
"What the... hell?" Jounouchi said, breaking the steady silence between ourselves.   
  
"Duck!"   
  
I was the only one that searched for the source of the noise. The others didn't seem to hear it. But before long, I found myself sprawled on the floor, knocked over by an unknown entity. I was not happy when I found Keith crouched next to me.   
  
It took a while for logic to kick in. _He_ knocked me over. _Keith_ knocked me over. Keith's _spirit_ knocked me over. An intangible essence knocked me _over_. Off my feet. Impossible, right? I was seconds from actually questioning this before a loud explosion sounded behind me. I whirled around and found myself staring into a black void. My friends looked a little dazed, but no worse for the wear. Gray smoke slowly cleared from the area.   
  
"Roll right!" ordered Keith's voice.   
  
For reasons I'll probably never know, I did. In doing so, I avoided a dead-on attack. The bright black bomb exploded, blowing me back probably about ten meters.   
  
I blinked at the length I fell. What happened to the walls? I frowned as I thought about this. Slowly, it sank in. Slowly, I realized we weren't in Pegasus's castle anymore.   
  
What was this place called, again? The Shadow Realm? Strange place...   
  
And slowly, just as I realized my current location, a creepy-looking machine appeared. He tossed a bomb to himself lightly with one giant white hand. Just before pitching it towards the rest of the group.   
  
"What the hell is that thing?"   
  
"The Blast Juggler." Keith again. I want to know why the hell he's still here. Wait a sec...   
  
"Blast Juggler?"   
  
"Stupid little robot thing, throws bombs?" Keith mused.   
  
"I know that! What the hell's up with this one?"   
  
"I don't know," Keith frowned. "I don't really know what happened. All I know is that one day, a ton of monsters from the game showed up. Now, they show up at random, wreak havoc, and go away when they're satisfied. It's getting out of control."   
  
"How long has this been going on?"   
  
"How should I know? I was dead for the latter half of Duelist Kingdom, remember?"   
  
I didn't respond. A loud explosion cut me off... Again. I inwardly expected to see Jounouchi as the Flame Swordsman, torching the Blast Juggler. Of course, it didn't happen. Another bomb, followed up quickly by another one. But a thought just occured to me.   
  
"What's the Blast Juggler doing?" I asked him. Before Keith could reply with a crude remark, I quickly added, "It doesn't look like he's aiming to kill, does it? Sure, my friends look a bit disheveled, but they don't really look hurt, do they?"   
  
Keith glanced back at the battle for a quick second. Then, something seemed to click almost immediately for him. "It's a cover!" he gasped. "The Blast Juggler's only covering for somebody else!"   
  
"What?!?"   
  
"There's something else here! It's definitely stronger than the Blast Juggler, but not by much. The Blast Juggler to distract the group so the stronger monster can attack without being spotted."   
  
"... So they're not all gunning for me..."   
  
"I think the first one used you as a distraction. This one, however..." Keith motioned towards the Blast Juggler. "... Is doing a better job than you did."   
  
I opened my mouth to say something when I saw a glint of silver, behind the smoke, and a faint yellow light.   
  
"... What is that?" I asked, pointing beyond the smoke.   
  
"I'm not sure..."   
  
I finally stood up. Keith sent me a surprised look. "What the hell are _you_ doing?"   
  
"I have to help them!" I argued. "They're too busy dodging bombs to worry about the ominous thing behind the smoke! I don't have a deck, so I can't do what Jounouchi did, but I have to do **some**thing!"   
  
Keith cocked his head. "Honda, was it?" he asked. "I have a theory. You don't mind if I try it, do you?"   
  
"Does it involve me?"   
  
"In a way. But it could help you out if it works," he smirked.   
  
"... What do I have to do?"   
  
"Just clear your head," he instructed me. "It shouldn't be too hard for you."   
  
I frowned, but did as he said, against my better judgement. I shut my eyes slightly, only to have them snap back open as something freezing touched... no... entered through my back. My breathing quickened sharply, then slowed. I felt my eyes droop, then nothing...   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Scary, no? Next time, the fight unfolds (after Anzu replies to the e-mail thing), and we continue the story in Seto Kaiba's POV. Enjoy! (*blinks* Wow. Longest chapter I've ever written... Ever...)


	3. Chapter 3: The Island's Hidden Enemies

**_Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story. 'Cept maybe the basic idea of one of the shortest battle sequences in this whole story. That's about it._**

* * *

Message from: LooksCanDeceive84@hotmail.co.jp   
Message to: GameMaster01@hotmail.co.jp   
  
Sorry I haven't written to you in a while. Things have been pretty hectic over here.   
  
Your Ojii-chan doesn't seem to be getting any better. At least he's safe. I haven't seen anything else that appeared even remotely strange. Save an oversized albino dog when I was walking home. I know foxes are popular over here, but I very much doubt that we get wolves in Domino. Especially in broad daylight. But I haven't seen it recently. I guess that's a good thing.   
  
Sure, I didn't see any strange things, myself, but I've heard some pretty weird stuff. They closed school for a day because of a thunderstorm. People are saying they swore to seeing faces in the storm clouds. Strange, ne? I also heard that our homeroom teacher was mugged when he was walking home from his second job. By some little kid in a ridiculous outfit. He had strange armor, blue hair, purple-ish skin, and a shield with the numbers '07' on them. And there are rumors that Kaiba Mokuba was attacked by a huge green monster...   
  
I want to know what's going on around here. I don't know what to believe anymore. I probably wouldn't have believed any of it if your Ojii-chan wasn't attacked in front of us. This week just keeps getting weirder and weirder...   
  
  
  
  


**_Subtlety, Chapter 2: The Island's Hidden Enemies_**

_Seto Kaiba POV_

  
  
Pitch after pitch. None of the pitches hit any of us, but the backlash sent us flying. We barely had any time to react. Jounouchi couldn't use that trick he used when we met Ansatsu, since, from what I could see, he could barely slip his hand into his pocket before another bomb was chucked at us and sent us flying. And the leftover smoke was so thick, I could barely see the others. We lost Honda early on in the fight. Maybe he had backed out of the fight, somehow?   
  
If so, I think that crazy boy became smarter than the rest of us.   
  
Another bomb was tossed. It was just far enough away from me that even the backlash didn't hit me. In the brief time period, I saw two things. The first thing I saw was Honda. I shrugged it off at the time, since I only saw him for a brief second. The second thing I saw was a brief shine of something. Most likely a sword. Again, it was _very_ brief. I seemed a bit more empathetic about the latter than the former.   
  
I found myself searching through my trenchcoat for my deck. I pulled out one card, and was decently satisfied when I found out just which one I pulled. As for the creature, you can have three guesses which one it is. The last two don't count.   
  
Instinct kicked in, but I did something completely different from what Jounouchi had done. I held out the card in front of me, and focused on it. I felt a good amount of my energy leave me, but I thought nothing of it. I released the card when it began to glow. One flash of light later, the most infamous monster in my deck stood in front of me. Yes, it was completely different than what Make Inu had done, but I'm not Make Inu.   
  
I searched for the flash of silver again, only to find out that the smoke had veiled it again. Our attacker seemed smart enough to keep away from me. What good would it do?   
  
I could kill the one attacking us presently, but he's not posing as an immediate threat. If he's not even striking to kill, why waste an attack on it?   
  
I blinked in surprise. I could actually hear the newcomer through the smoke. I let my trademark smirk cross my face.   
  
"Blue Eyes," I said, a little bit too calmly, given the circumstances. "Fire the Burst Stream that way." I pointed about five meters from the rest of the group. My creature obeyed, firing a wide beam of white lightning from his mouth. I watched it streak into the thick smoke, a content smirk on my face. I heard the Make Inu scream something along the lines of, "You tryin' to kill us?!?" I didn't take much notice to it. I was focusing on something else?   
  
Did the attack hit?   
  
Blast Juggler chucked more bombs at Yuugi, Jounouchi, and Bakura. The smoke never cleared.   
  
"Smoke screen," noted another voice. I whirled around. Honda. But he looked... different, somehow. He had a confident look on his face, which changed my outlook on him. Another thing that changed was his eyes. I know it's one of the last of things you look at somebody on the battlefield, but they were different. I don't know what color eyes he had, but I was sure as hell they weren't the steely blue color they were now. Honda didn't seem to notice too well that I was staring at him. "Our new friend is smarter than Ansatsu was. Blast Juggler's not just a distraction. His attack is veiling the creature. You have a slim chance of hitting it now."   
  
Honda was making sense.   
  
"And if you don't mind, Kaiba," Honda smirked, drawing a card. (When'd he get a deck?) "I'd like to take out the distraction."   
  
He tossed the card in his hands. Much like with the Blue Eyes, it began to glow. Unlike the Blue Eyes, the monster on it appeared in a shower of sparks, rather than a flash of light. It was a Pendulum Machine. Before I could question Honda where he found it, he had issued a command to his creature.   
  
"Blast Juggler o koroshita!" {{Kill the Blast Juggler!}}   
  
The creature charged. The pendulum connected to its torso swung into the Blast Juggler and split it in half upon impact. The demented clown-like machine shattered and faded. The black smoke cleared almost instantly. I could see the shocked looks of Yuugi and the rest of them. Even more importantly, I saw the creature. It was a Sword Hunter.   
  
No clue why it felt it had to hide behind the smokescreen. No matter.   
  
It couldn't even move before Blue Eyes' attack sent it back to wherever the hell it came from. Soon afterwards, the dark shadows around us dissapated, leaving us back in the castle. Luckily enough, none of us were hurt too bad. We were a little scuffed up. The worst thing was that Honda and I were tired. And the former of those mentioned before was staring at the card in his hands, confused to no end. He was just being strange again, I thought.   
  
Yeah, everything was fine. Just fine... ****

**Later that day...**

  
Bakura, Yuugi, and Jounouchi conversed amoungst themselves quietly. I was working diligently on my laptop. I had some of my own things to do. My company was already working on Dueling Stations all over Japan. I was working on something else, at the side. Something a bit more practical, and a lot easier to carry around, than what was currently out. The last project I had worked on worked just fine, but it had too many complications to it. I had to re-work it a bit.   
  
Basically meaning, I had a ton of work to do. Unfortunately, I had reached a creative slump. Which left me nowhere.   
  
"Ne, Kaiba-kun..." Yuugi said suddenly. {{Hey, Kaiba-kun...}}   
  
"Nani?" {{What?}}   
  
"Can I check my e-mail quickly?"   
  
I groaned, pulled down my current work, and let Yuugi use the laptop.   
  
"What're you working on?" he asked as he opened up his e-mail account.   
  
"It doesn't matter," I snapped in reply. "I didn't get that far on it today."   
  
"On what?" came Make inu's voice.   
  
"Nandemonai, zako." {{It's nothing, small fry.}}   
  
Make inu didn't seem to take too well to that. I was surprised Bakura could hold him back. His little blonde friend did seem to jump the gun a lot. Finally, it looked like he had calmed down enough, so Bakura released him. And everybody went back to doing what they were doing. Somewhat.   
  
Yuugi typed quickly on the laptop. Bakura looked over a rather large pile of cards. He took one from the pile, read it over, and either set it to one side or another. Deck-building. That was the most logical explanation I could come up with. Jounouchi hunched over the pile, too, asking Bakura about certain cards that stuck out to him. "If you don't want it, then can I keep it?" He muttered that a lot when Bakura told him he wasn't looking for that type of card for his deck.   
  
I had nothing better to do, so I left the group with themselves. I needed to think for a bit, anyway. Business-related. I needed some more ideas.   
  
I walked pretty aimlessly for a while. Just lost in thought. More business-related stuff. I was jogged from my wonderings by Honda. He was talking to himself, glancing at the wall across from him. Loony. I just kept walking. As I passed Honda, he looked shocked, but shook it off rather quickly. I didn't take much notice. I kept walking. It wasn't until I was about to turn the corner when I heard him speak to me.   
  
"Kaiba!" Honda yelled quickly. "Matte!" {{Wait!}}   
  
I stopped, allowing him to catch up. Don't know why, but I did. So I've grown empathetic in such a short amount of time. Hn. This trip affected me sooner than I thought it would.   
  
When he caught up, he nodded his thanks. I glared at him. "What do you want?"   
  
"Somebody tangible to walk with me," he replied. "Keith's good company and all, but it's just too weird talking to somebody and having someone walk through him while you're talking."   
  
"Keith?"   
  
"Bandit Keith," Honda replied. "He's my friend... I think..."   
  
"Has it ever occurred to you that he's dead?"   
  
"Duh," Honda smirked. "He's hanging around the castle for a while until he is satisfied. Then he'll cross over. Until then, he said he would help us out."   
  
"Isn't that nice of him?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.   
  
"He helped out in the last fight," Honda replied. "He told me you saw him. He possessed me so he could fight. He thought you needed some help."   
  
"I'd've managed just fine."   
  
"He doesn't care."   
  
"And why did Keith decide to be a nice guy?"   
  
"He wanted to haunt Pegasus into the grave for killing him, but Pegasus's already dead, so he said he'll leave when this is all over with."   
  
I stopped and glared at Honda. "You were dropped on your head when you were a child, weren't you?"   
  
Silence. Then Honda glared back. First at me. Then past me. Creepy bastard. Wouldn't be surprised if he _was_ dropped on his head. I continued walking. Honda glared at nothing for a bit, then jogged to catch up with me.   
  
"Where're you going?"   
  
"I don't know."   
  
"Then why're you walking?"   
  
"Clearing my head," I shrugged. "Hit a creative slump for business."   
  
Honda gave me a confused look. He was as much in the dark as I was, although he was focused on why I was still working, and I was wondering what Honda smoked to give him those ridiculous fantasies of his. I simply turned around. "I'm re-creating the Duel Disk."   
  
The confusion in Honda's face was cleared up only momentarily. "Why?"   
  
"I need something more practical than something you chuck at the opponent," I told him.   
  
"You just want something that a crazy person won't roll on the ground in a successful effort to mock you."   
  
It was meant to be a joke. Even I knew that. But he was somewhat, vaguely right.   
  
Honda shuddered suddenly. I turned on my heel abruptly and went the other way.   
  
"Kaiba, where're you going?!?" Honda called after me.   
  
"Whenever you shiver," I answered. "Something's coming. And it's in my best interest to keep out of this."   
  
I continued walking. Honda didn't follow. He started talking lowly to himself. Then, he shouted, "**Kaiba!**"   
  
That was as much as I heard from Honda. Darkness shrouded my vision. Frigid ice seemed to pierce my veins. And I was still concious. At least I could see myself. And the slowly-approaching woman in the distance--- NANI?!? {{WHAT?!?}}   
  
"Glad you could make it, Seto Kaiba," she mused. I tucked my hand into my pocket, searching for my deck. I really didn't trust this lady. As my fingers wrapped around my cards, she smiled, suddenly within arms-length of me. "Why the hostility?"   
  
I simply glared at the newcomer. The Dark Elf. "What the hell do you want?" At least this one spoke. Better than nothing.   
  
"A proper duel," she replied. "You'll have to forgive my colleagues earlier, with the smokescreen and the sneak attack that nearly killed that boy... No, I want a regular duel."   
  
"Fine," I replied. "What's the life point count?"   
  
"Oh, not a duel like _that,_" she frowned suddenly, running a dark-tanned hand through her purple-ish hair. "After all, I don't have access to cards."   
  
"So, we're fighting like before?"   
  
"Let me finish," she smiled. "You shall use your cards, and I shall use anything within my power. We each get two monsters to summon."   
  
"I assume you don't count as a monster?"   
  
"Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "I'm of Duel Monster origin. I only get one companion in this duel, while you get two. Lucky boy. But I can attack just fine, while I believe you are merely there to bark at your servants and give orders. The strategist, if you will. Not that much different from a regular duel, if you ask me."   
  
"Magic cards?"   
  
"Anything you desire," she replied. "Magic cards can be used as Trap cards, and Trap cards can be used as Magic cards. Do you follow?" I nodded. "Good. Normal restrictions apply. But you can't use anything to regain what you've lost, Magic or otherwise.   
  
"And one more thing. We're not playing with Life Points. The first one to be hit by the opponent's monster loses, and is to forever fade into the Shadow Realm. Basically meaning, death follows the loser of this duel."   
  
That's it?   
  
"Fine," I shrugged, searching through my deck. I'd use the Blue Eyes. That was a given. Should I use two of them for this fight? Was I allowed to double up on a certain type of monster? I decided against it. I chose Saggi, instead. I pulled my Magic and Traps from my deck and shoved the rest of my monsters back into my trenchcoat.   
  
I summoned my creatures a lot easier next time. I found out I could do an interesting trick with my magic cards. I had three of them set in front of me.   
  
"I'm surprised you didn't summon your Ultimate Dragon, or two Blue Eyes," blinked my opponent.   
  
"I wasn't aware I could," I answered. "But it doesn't matter. This will end quickly, regardless."   
  
"You're not worried about the consequences of this fight, are you?"   
  
I wasn't. In one duel, I disgraced my brother, was unable to free him, and I lost my own soul, after all. "I've lost worse," I scoffed. "You can move."   
  
The Dark Elf summoned a Mystical Elf. Strange. She'll focus on defense, rather than attack? And such a weak defense, considering the attack power I had. Of course, it made Saggi basically useless, due to the low attack power. So much for the Deck Destruction Virus of Death plan... But why was it in attack mode? She set and summoned a magic card.   
  
A brown-ish jar appeared next to the playing field. In a wave of purple smoke, Blue Eyes was gone.   
  
"So, you're relying on cheap tricks to win?"   
  
"Whatever it takes," she answered as two small flashes of red appeared on the Dragon Capture Jar. "Take your turn, Seto."   
  
I armed Saggi with Megamorph, doubling his feeble attack power. The Dark Elf left her "companion" in attack mode. But, as Saggi attacked, the Dark Elf's Reverse Trap was activated. Saggi's attack fell immensely, and Mystical Elf ripped through my only remaining monster.   
  
"I believe it's my turn," the Dark Elf smirked. "You were right. The fight would end quickly."   
  
I prayed my own cheap trick would work as she sent her monster in to attack. To my surprise, it did. I found myself in heavy blue armor. I had pulled a trick Jounouchi had used. I didn't think I could use Polymerization on myself... The Mystical Elf was quickly taken care of, disappearing in a shower of blue sparks.   
  
"I-impossible!"   
  
I smirked. "I think I found a loophole in your rules. No matter. _Whatever it takes._"   
  
I outstretched my hand and focused. I felt lightning surging through my veins before it took form in my palm. A quick twitch of my hand, and the lightning found its target. The darkness faded back into the castle.   
  
Too easy.   
  
I picked up the cards that had fluttered to the ground. As I pocketed them once again, I turned around. Honda was gone. Must've went to ask Yuugi-tachi for help. I rolled my eyes and walked back, lost in thought.   
  
I think I just left my Creative Slump.   
  
I found the group again, just as I had left it. Strange.   
  
"Hey," I said. "Have you seen Honda?"   
  
"Not since that last battle we fought," Yuugi replied. "Doshite?" {{Why?}}   
  
I shook my head. "Nandemonai." {{Nothing.}}   
  
I opened up my laptop again and started typing. Before I fully indulged myself in my work, I watched Bakura leave. Jounouchi quickly stole the spot in front of Yuugi, asking for help in rebuilding his deck. Then I was lost in my typing, once again.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Next chapter, Bakura Ryou POV. More strange stuff happens. But in this story, was there any doubt in your mind?


End file.
